Chapter 18: Sakurajima Mai
“What took you so long?”
Asagi sat on a chair, casually remarking, wondering if so girl had caught his eye and made him linger.
“Yeah, the ice cream shop girl was pretty cute.”
Luo Yun handed Asagi her ice cream, teasing with a grin.
“…If you were actually interested in girls, you wouldn’t be so passive.”
Asagi asked in disbelief, then realized her slip-up. She quickly took a small lick of her ice cream, changing the subject.
The ice cream shop wasn’t far—visible from where they were.
Given Asagi’s personality, she’d likely have watched him buy the ice cream.
Yet even so, she hadn’t noticed Sakurajima Mai dressed as a bunny girl.
“So, it really is just who can see her?”
Luo Yun pondered.
“Anyway, it’s because you’re so hopeless with girls that I took pity on you and hung out with you like this.”
Asagi stood up from the chair, full of energy.
“So, let’s head sowhere else next!”
After that, Luo Yun and Asagi road the amusent park and nearby mall. He bought a small gift for Asagi, and soon, as evening fell, their “date” ca to an end.
“Next ti, it’s my treat for dinner. Can’t keep letting you spend like this.”
Asagi stood at the intersection, waving goodbye to Luo Yun.
Then she glanced at her phone.
“Crap, it’s already this late? I gotta rush to my part-ti job!”
Asagi mid typing on a keyboard in the air. Though her tone suggested sothing as casual as working a cash register, the security departnt on Itogami Island wasn’t a place just anyone could waltz into.
“Work sounds tough.”
“You bet… I’m a genius programr, after all! Bye-bye!”
Watching Asagi’s retreating figure, Luo Yun let his slightly weary body relax.
Shopping with a girl was, as expected, exhausting work.
But instead of heading ho right away, Luo Yun lingered. It was the weekend, and staying out a bit longer wouldn’t prompt any complaints from Nayue.
More importantly, he had other matters to attend to.
Like Sakurajima Mai’s situation.
With the range of people unable to see her growing, her issue needed to be resolved quickly. According to the original story, if left unchecked, Mai’s existence would eventually be erased from the world, forgotten even by her family.
Luo Yun’s reasons for acting were twofold. First, Mai’s situation was a plot mission. Resolving it would earn him recognition power* and a chance at a “destiny designation*.”
Second, call it hypocrisy if you will, but even if it was just for the feelings he had chasing the ani back then, Luo Yun didn’t want her to vanish without a trace.
“So, where would she go next…?”
As Luo Yun prepared to search for her, scanning the area, a curious voice ca from behind.
“Looking for ?”
Turning around, he saw a black-haired girl in a school uniform.
A beige sailor suit with a blue collar and a sky-blue plaid skirt that barely covered her hips, fitting snugly but feeling a size too small.
Newly issued girls’ uniforms were typically oversized, and students often shortened skirts for style, but Mai’s looked less tailored and more… shrunken.
“You’ve been following ?”
Luo Yun asked, surprised.
“No, I wandered around after leaving the amusent park and just happened to spot you.”
Mai held a few convenience store bags filled with snacks and small items.
“So people here can still see , so I bought a bit extra.”
Her words gave Luo Yun a hint: things hadn’t reached the worst point yet, but the situation was far from optimistic.
“Also, judging by your expression, you seem to know what’s happening to ?”
“More or less.”
Luo Yun’s words made Mai pause, her expression briefly stunned.
She hadn’t expected a casual question to touch on sothing so crucial, and her gaze grew faintly eager.
Luo Yun indeed knew what was going on. In the original story, it was a condition called “Puberty Syndro*,” though the resolution was sowhat delicate.
After a mont of silence, Mai spoke. “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s find sowhere to sit.”
Her invitation was a compromise.
No one wants to vanish, and Mai’s desire to exist was stronger than most.
In an amusent park teeming with thousands, only Luo Yun could see her, giving her a glimr of hope.
Soon, Mai led Luo Yun to a quiet café.
Yup, the sa antique café he’d visited with Asagi earlier.
Footnotes
recognition power (rèn zhī lì): Pinyin: rèn zhī lì. A fictional concept in this story, referring to a form of power or energy gained from others’ acknowledgnt, tied to Luo Yun’s abilities and his light novel writing, as ntioned in Chapter 12.destiny designation (mìng yùn zhǐ dìng): Pinyin: mìng yùn zhǐ dìng. A vague term likely referring to a plot-specific reward, possibly a chance to alter or influence fate, though its exact chanics aren’t detailed here.Puberty Syndro (qīng chūn qī zōng hé zhèng): Pinyin: qīng chūn qī zōng hé zhèng. A term from Bunny Girl Senpai, describing supernatural phenona affecting teenagers, tied to emotional or psychological issues. Here, it refers to Mai’s invisibility caused by being forgotten.
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